Brothers
by Hawkeyeisbae
Summary: An AU Marvel Universe Fanfiction story, What if Tony wasn't the biological son of Howard Stark? For years Howard has kept this a secret. Hidden the exact circumstances of how Tony came to live with him, of when he was really born. Even after Howard's death, Tony keeps his secret. That is until his long lost "brother" Bucky comes back into his life.
1. Chapter 1

"Bucky Barnes." Tony offered the man his hand after the initial shock of seeing the man after seventeen years.

 _It was the Stark Expo, 1937. Howard had just successfully shown off the first computerized navigation system. It had crashed right after the curtains had closed, a total of a twelve monte runtime, but that was enough to interest investors in keeping their money in Stark Industries. The navigation system would be successful in the future, Howard was sure of it. The moment he had enough time to devote to it, but now his time was focused on more important matters. Creating the first super soldier had seemed like an easy task when he had signed on but it was proving to be much more difficult. They'd only just gotten the serum perfected, not that they'd tested it on anyone yet. It was too risky to test it on anyone officially yet, it was still going through animal testing. For all they knew it would kill any human test subject, and Howard Stark wasn't prepared to answer for that. But they still needed to test the serum, the task of finding a subject had fallen to himself. Lost in his thoughts, he nearly knocked over a five year old. Not a heartless man, he stopped to pick the child and his sketchpad up off of the ground._

 _"I'm sorry young man." He said, handing the child back the sketchbook. It wasn't until the book was back in the child's hands that he realized what the child was drawing. It was his invention, and it was deadly accurate, notes were scribbled all along the sides outlining how the thing worked. Howard in shock, took the book back from the boy's trembling hands._

 _"Are you a spy?" He asked the boy, more curious then anything else. He shouldn't have this much information on the project._

 _"No sir." The boy said in a thick Italian accent similar but much heavier then his own fourth generation accent. "I…I just watched."_

 _"You got all of this from seeing it for six seconds?" Howard asked impressed by the boy's intelligence._

 _"Yes, Sir." It was now that Howard realized that no parents had come to intercept him talking to their son. Looking around, he saw no one who even resembled the boy in the crowd._

 _"Where are your parents? A small boy like you shouldn't be here on his own."_

 _"They're dead, sir." The boy said looking down at the ground._

 _"You're an orphan." Howard clarified.  
"Yes, sir. My parents died on the way to America of a disease. I was allowed into the country with my uncle, but he died shortly after. I'm all on my own."_

 _"How old are you boy?"_

 _"I've been on my own for a year, and last I knew I was four, so I'm guessing by now I'm five."_

 _"You're smart, do you go to school?"_

 _"No sir. You have to pay for school. Orphans don't have any money."_

 _"Do you live in an orphanage?"_

 _"No, sir. I live on the streets. I can't get a job so I can't live anywhere else."_

 _As the boy had talked an idea had formed in Howard's head, this boy could be exactly what they needed._

 _"What's your name?"_

 _"Antoni Rivaldi." The boy stated clearly._

 _Howard offered him his hand for a shake. "Well Antoni, I'm Howard Stark. Why don't you come with me? I've got something else to show you that I think you might be interested in."_

 _"Thank you, sir." The young boy said looking up at the older man with eager eyes. Howard couldn't help but see some of himself in the boy's eyes from when he was younger, he could work with the raw determination and curiosity that shined there. Beyond that though, the boy really did share a physical resemblance to himself at that age. With his thick dark hair and dark chocolate brown eyes, he could almost pass for Howard's son._

"Anthony Stark, I don't know if you remember me, but…"

"You're the man who killed my father." Tony said a cold, grim, smile sliding onto his face. "While compromised by Hydra of course, so no hard feelings."

"Perhaps I wasn't as compromised as they'd like to believe. As I remember saving your life shortly after I flipped that car." Bucky says equally as grim.

"Like I said." Tony says a genuine smile filling his face, confusing all of the other Avengers. "No hard feelings."

 _"So, do you understand Antoni?"_

 _"You want to test a highly secret potentially deadly serum, that if successful will make me virtually invincible."_

 _"Correct." Howard says as he powers up the chamber they created to administer the serum._

 _"But if it does work, I don't have to be a super soldier."_

 _Howard laughed. "Of course not my dear boy, you're only five years old. No one would ever send a five year old into battle, even if he was invincible."_

 _"In exchange for testing this, I get to live with you right?"_

 _"Right." Howard echoes, quietly adding if you survive in his own head. "Ready?" He asks the boy when the chamber beeps signaling that it's ready._

 _"Ready." The boy echoes stepping into the chamber. A team of scientists, employed by himself and instructed to keep quiet about the test, begin monitoring the boy's vitals and the progress of the serum administration. If all goes well the process should take roughly an hour. They all try to tune out the boy's screams as that hour ticks away._

"So, Steve." James 'Bucky' Barnes, says turning to his old friend. "I heard you're still into boxing. Want to see if you can last a round with me? It'll be just like the old days." Rogers chuckled darkly as he observed his old friend.

"I think the question will be wether you can last a round with me." The captain says following the Winter Soldier out of the room, closely followed by the other Avengers who all have nothing better to do then watch the two fight it out.

 _"Am I still alive?" The boy asked when the scientist wheeled him out of the chamber. The administration of the serum had went well, the boy was still alive, Howard found himself finding great relief in this fact. It had been a hellish hour waiting to see if the boy would survive. There was definitely adjustments that needed to be made before anyone else went into the chamber._

 _"Yes, you're alive." Howard reassured Antoni. "You're more then alive. Everything went well. Thank you, Antoni."_

 _"You're welcome." The boy whispered, grabbing the older man's hand as sleep overtook his tired body. Howard felt a slight warm fuzzy feeling in his chest as he looked at the boy. His son. He'd always wanted to have a son, and this boy seemed like he would do. Antoni could match him hand for hand intellectually and now was virtually invincible. It was hard to miss the muscles that were forming before Howard's very eyes as the serum took effect on the boy's body. Yes, Antoni would make the perfect son._

"How are you so cool with Rogers being buddy buddy with the man who killed your parents and nearly killed you?" Clint asked Stark while they watched the two men box.

"I see you read the governments file." Tony said slightly annoyed that he hadn't cleared out that information yet. When Barton didn't deny the fact or try to apologize Tony just shrugged. "Barnes was compromised when he attacked us. By your logic, I should hate you for what you did while Loki had compromised you."

"Touché." The agent offered up in response.

 _"Dad." Antoni called through the hallways of the mansion he now lived in. Howard had insisted that he call him so, and wouldn't respond to anything else from the boy's mouth._

 _"I'm in the lab." Howard called back, listening for the boy's arrival by the sound of his feet._

 _"Someone is here to see you." The boy offered, going to his own project on his separate bench in the corner of the lab._

 _"You didn't answer the door did you?" Howard was paranoid about someone finding out that Antoni not only existed in his household, but also about why he was hiding the boy from the world._

 _"No, Jarvis asked me to fetch you." The boy said as he began tinkering with the engine Howard had given him to build for his next project, the hover car._

 _"Did he tell you who it was?"_

 _"Some doctor." the boy replied, making it clear that whoever it was, he wasn't interested in meeting them. The boy had Howard and Howard was all the boy needed._

 _"I'll be back in a little bit. Ask Jarvis to make you dinner if you get hungry. Just stay out of sight." Howard instructed quickly cleaning himself up before going out to meet his guest._

 _Howard Stark didn't come back to his lab for two days. Not that Antoni really minded, he didn't. He honestly barely noticed until the last four hours that he was even gone. He was too busy fixing the car engine. Some might say like father like son. He only remembered to eat when Jarvis came and forced the food down his throat. And he only slept when he passed out on the table for a few hours too tired to continue. It was around ten o'clock at night when Howard returned to the lab looking for Antoni, to find him sleeping. He carefully shook the child awake, his news too urgent not to share._

 _When Antoni woke up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he noticed an unfamiliar teenager behind Howard._

 _"Who's that?" The always observant boy asked before Howard even had a chance to explain his presence._

 _"That's Bucky." Howard said, motioning for the other boy to come forward. "He's your older brother now."_

 _The younger boy thought about that for only a moment before offering the older boy a toothy grin usually reserved only for waffles and scientific breakthroughs._

 _"Hello Bucky, my name's Antoni."_

 _"Nice to meet you." The older boy had offered before beginning to talk to Howard in fluent german, so the younger boy couldn't understand. Antoni didn't mind, instead he studied Bucky. He'd already hypothesized that for Bucky to be there meeting him, Howard had to have tested the same serum on Bucky that had been tested on him. That also meant Bucky was probably an orphan as well. Watching Bucky's mannerisms quickly proved Antoni's hypothesis. The boy had definitely been exposed to the serum. That only made Antoni accept him more, another boy just like him to keep him company._

Tony and Bucky were alone in the kitchen. Jarvis was on strict orders to tell Tony if any of the other Avengers decided to get up for a midnight snack, though at three in the morning Tony highly doubted they would.

"I know you're Antoni." Bucky had said the moment he'd been sure Steve had gone to bed. Tony hadn't even tried to deny it.

"And I know you're Bucky Barnes." Tony had said. "What's your point." Bucky had stared at him a moment before pulling him into a hug.

"You haven't changed a bit over the years, Andy." Bucky said lovingly messing up the man's hair.

"Stop that." Tony had objected pushing the other man off of him but a smile had been prominent on his face.

"Admit it." Bucky had challenge an equal grin on his face. "You've missed me all these years."

"Of course I have you bastard." Tony had said not even pretending to be above such emotions.

"The others don't know do they?" Bucky had asked. Tony nodded. He'd been glad that Bucky had remembered their secret signal when he'd given it earlier. It'd stopped Bucky from saying anything that might reveal his secret in front of the Avengers, but especially Steve.

 _"Boys." Howard Stark bellowed from the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready." He listened chuckling as he heard their feet pound down the hallway. Each boy pausing briefly once they'd reached the kitchen to thank him for the food before sitting down at the table and inhaling it. The serum, Howard had quickly learned with Antoni, made them need five times as many calories as most normal people to fully function. While they could also go weeks without eating, the boys loved food. So he always made sure to have enough to feed a small army, and even they still often wanted more._

 _"The war has escalated." He says making breakfast conversation, slowing down the boy's rapid pace of eating._

 _"Not really surprising." Bucky offered while Antoni only grunted through a mouthful of food._

 _"You two wonder why I don't let you out of this house." Howard said with a shake of his head._

 _"No we don't." Bucky said sharply. "We know why."_

 _"Well, that's about to change soon. At least for you Bucky." Howard said grimly. "Hydra is aware that you were injected with the serum, and has begun searching for you. We've decided that the best way to prevent them from finding you is to have you enlist. We're monitoring the candidate to be the first official soldier as you know and soon he'll be ready to be injected with the serum. We just have to get the doctor on board. To do that it'll have to be his idea, so you'll probably be gone and deployed into service by that time, but hopefully the soldier will follow you shortly after. While you're secret will protect you, you also have to keep it that, even from the new soldier. Understand."_

 _"I understand." Bucky answered quickly before he was interrupted by his younger counterpart who was just learning of Bucky's eminent enlistment._

 _"What?" Antoni yelled outraged by the news._

 _"As for Antoni?" Bucky asked a hard edge to both his voice and eyes, needing to confirm what they had discussed a few years before._

 _"They still don't know he exists." Bucky nodded satisfied that Antoni would be left safe in Howard's care. He didn't care what happened to himself as long as Antoni survived. "Keep it that way." Bucky ordered polishing off his plate. Howard didn't have to tell the older boy that he intended to do so. They both knew that Howard loved them both like sons, if Hydra and the US Government didn't know of Bucky's existence, Howard would have kept him sheltered from the war as well._

"The day you left was the worst day of my life." Tony said, as he cooked the pair of them waffles. They'd moved into his lab to make sure no one could disturb them, as Natasha and Clint often got up around this hour of the day. Tony had the glass wall set to it's frosted setting so no one could see in and the door locked along with the security system powered down so no one could enter unannounced, and stumble across the pair of them who to the outside world were supposed to be complete strangers.

"I'm sorry." Bucky said, true sorrow in his voice as he looked at his younger brother.

"It wasn't your fault. Howard made you go." Tony said but Bucky only looked away. He still felt guilty for leaving, especially for leaving Tony not only for the war but for the 70 years that followed even if it wasn't voluntarily.

 _"Andy!" Bucky shouted jumping up and down on his younger sibling's bed, feeling much like a young child himself. "WAKE UP!" The younger boy only groaned, slowly opening his eyes. "What do you want Bucky? It isn't even 7 in the morning yet."_

 _"It's christmas, Andy. It doesn't have to be 7 in the morning for you to be up. Dad's already awake and making breakfast, we're just waiting for you to open the tree."_

 _"I don't wanna get up." The younger boy moaned rolling over._

 _"I swear Antoni, if you don't get up right now I'm gonna…"_

 _"Gonna what James?" The younger boy asked using his rarely used first name instead of the boy's preferred nickname._

 _"I'm gonna dump a bucket of water on your head."_

 _"Alright." Antoni said, sitting up. "I'm up."_

 _"Good." The older boy said bouncing out of the room. "Breakfast will be done in five minutes."_

 _"I'll be right down." Antoni said sliding out of his warm bed. He ran after his brother. Now slightly more awake, he's much more excited for Christmas._

"What happened to your arm?" Tony asked. He'd been shocked to see that it was missing when Bucky had walked into the debriefing room at the newly reformed SHIELD the day before. Luckily he'd quickly stashed away the shock before the other Avengers could register it, but that didn't quench his curiosity.

"It was torn off when I fell off that cliff during the war." Bucky offered taking a bite of the waffles Tony had placed in front of him. His eyes closing, savoring the taste, as nostalgia clogged his voice. "These taste just like dads."

"They should, it's his recipe." Tony said munching on his own stack. "You want a new one?"

"A new what?"

"Arm." Tony said simply.

"I've already got one, and Fury offered me another."

"I'll make you a better one then you have or any Fury could give you."

"You don't have to do—"

Tony cut him off. "It's what brothers do for one another." Forgetting his waffles, he went over to his work bench, Dum-E and Butterfingers already bringing him the tools he'd need. "Just give me the day."

"You always were a good engineer." Bucky said appreciatively as he watched Tony get to work.

 _"It's not that hard." Bucky said, chuckling as Tony struggled with the concept of holding the baseball bat._

 _"For you, maybe." Tony complained as he tried to get the grip right._

 _"Alright, alright. I can't take it anymore. Come here Andy." Antoni did as Bucky asked and walked over to his brother who was standing by the home plate of their makeshift baseball diamond._

 _"Here." He said placing Antoni's hands correctly on the bat. "You hold it like this." He then corrected Antoni's stance. "Then all you've got to do is swing." He instructed stepping back so Antoni could do so. The boy after shooting his brother a worried look executed the swing with textbook precision._

 _"Ask dad to let you join a team, when I was out the other day I saw signs for little league sign ups."_

 _"You know I'm not allowed off the property, unlike you I'm not supposed to exist."_

 _"Howard can create you an alias and have Jarvis or me bring you. I'd say you were my little cousin or something. No one would know of your connection to Howard or know who you really are."_

 _"Will you ask him?" Antoni had asked his eyes pleading._

 _"Of course Andy, what are brothers for?" He'd messed up his younger brother's hair putting his own baseball cap on Antoni's head and pulling it down over his eyes. Antoni playfully fought him off then scowled at him, offering him back his hat._

 _"Keep it." Bucky had said, causing Antoni to break out into a big smile that it seemed only Bucky could bring out._

"You kept it." Bucky said. He'd stumbled across his old baseball cap, the one he'd given to little Antoni all those years ago.

"Of course I did." Tony said, as Bucky tried the hat on for size. "It was yours. I knew you'd want it back eventually."

 _"You know how to shoot a gun, Andy?" Bucky had asked walking into Antoni's room. He was bored and had just gotten permission from Howard for both boy's to fly to Howard's hunting estate in upstate New York. Howard had taken Bucky a few times, but Antoni had always been in the middle of some project that neither or them could get him to stop working on. Now too busy with the war to take Antoni, Howard had conceded to let Bucky be the one to teach him how to hunt._

 _"Not a clue." The younger boy said looking up from his project for Howard's next expo._

 _"Want to learn? Seems pretty silly that a son of Howard Stark, the biggest weapons manufacture in the world doesn't know how to shoot one of his father's weapons."_

 _"Did dad say it was okay?" Antoni asked, jumping up from the floor._

 _"Said it was more then alright. He might even join us if he gets a moment. He's going to New York anyway. Pack a bag, we leave in a half an hour."_

 _"Thanks Bucky." Antoni had hugged his brother before rushing to fill a bag. Bucky had hugged him back before going to his own room to collect his riffle that Howard had given him a few months previous and a bag of clothing he'd already packed._

"What's the thing that keeps glowing beneath your shirt?" Bucky asked pointing to the Arc Reactor.

"Keeps me alive." Tony said with a shrug.

"From what?" Bucky asked, sitting down on a stool near where Tony is working on creating his new arm.

"Polonium shrapnel that tries to attack my heart."

"How'd that happen?" Bucky asked, his hands forming fists as he thinks about someone hurting his younger brother.

"I was attacked by a terrorist who used my own weapons to capture me when I went to Afghanistan about six years ago. The polonium in the weapons embedded itself in my body. I should be dead." Noticing Bucky's agitation. Tony smiled darkly. "Don't worry, I blew the bastards up when I escaped."

 _"Bucky." Antoni's strangled cry rang throughout the house. "Bucky." It sounded again as the younger boy raced toward his older brother who was being escorted out of the house by their father. The time had come, Bucky was going to be sent over seas in a week. His absences from the house had been more and more frequent as he'd prepared to leave, Antoni had barely seen him over the last few months and now it was time for him to leave. Bucky was to be with Steve before he shipped out, Howard had made that clear, no more secret trips home to see Antoni._

 _When he heard Antoni's voice, the older boy stopped in his tracks and spread open his arms engulfing Antoni in them. Antonni clung desperately onto him. Howard looked away unable to watch the emotional scene and stick with his resolve. Tears were streaming down Antoni's face. "You come back, Bucky. I'll do anything you want if you don't go. I'll build them a super soldier to take your place if I have too."_

 _Bucky could only smile sadly at his brother touched by the offer. "I've got to go Antoni, if I don't, they'll make you. They won't want a robot, they aren't prepared for that kind of technology yet, so I've got to go and fight the bad guys. It's what brothers do for one another."_

 _He'd held Antoni until his tears had quieted then wiping away his own silent ones, he'd stood up and walked once more with Howard, who clasped him on the shoulder._

"Steve will be up soon." Tony remarked, glancing at his watch, it was nearly eight in the morning. And Steve always woke up at eight.

"Your point?" Bucky asked while rolling his eyes.

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah. How do they not know who you are? I'm glad they don't, it just seems implausible that you've kept it a secret all these years.'

"Howard made sure no one would ever know after we lost you." Tony said continuing to pound out Bucky's new arm.

"The Government is still looking for the third soldier aren't they?"

"They are. The search escalated a lot after they lost the two of you. Howard lead them on a goose chase, they haven't got a clue who I really am." Tony said taking a long sip of coffee.

"They know I know who the third soldier is, don't they."

"Yes, they've got his name, but they don't have any further information. Howard made sure of that. I've continued the goose chase since he's been gone. They're no closer, even with you here, then they were back in the early forties.

"I like goose chases." Bucky said a mischievous smile spreading across his face, a similar one quickly mirroring him on Tony's face.

"Must be a family trait." Tony said, chuckling.

 _"I don't know how to tell you this Antoni…" Howard had come home with grief displayed across his face. He'd refused to talk to Antoni until he'd made them both dinner, Antoni's favorite: waffles._

 _"Just spit it out dad." Antoni had never been one to beat around the bush._

 _"Bucky is missing, or dead, we're not sure which. He's been gone for about a week, I didn't tell you sooner because I was hoping he'd turn up once the war ended, but he hasn't. Steve Rogers is gone too, he crash landed his plane into ice water." Antoni had stopped eating the moment the news had left Howard's mouth, his appetite suddenly gone. He'd pushed his plate away._

 _"I'll find them. Both of them. I promise you." Howard had said passion that drove many of his other projects deep in his eyes. "And I'll keep you safe. Hydra is gone now, but there will be other evils who will seek you out, Antoni. I'm going to make sure no one ever knows that you exist, and if anyone you don't know ever calls you by the name Antoni, you run you hear me. You run and you don't look back." Antoni only nodded. "I swear Antoni, you're all I've got, and I'm not about to loose you." Antoni only nodded, shortly after excusing himself. Howard let him go, already forming a plan to make sure no one would ever know that Antoni was the third super soldier._

"Rogers, where is Stark?" Fury barked at the Captain of the Avengers.

"Here." Tony said walking into the conference room where the Avengers had been summoned. He was only slightly late, but he was never on time. This was perhaps the closest he'd ever been to being on time. As he surveyed the room for an empty seat he tried not to look eager as he took the only available seat left in the room at the end of the table next to Bucky.

"We have a new task for the Avengers." Fury passed out a copy of a file to each Avenger plus Bucky. "As you all know, the creation of super soldiers was an idea that was short lived. The lead scientist being killed early on in the start of the process. Before that happened however, it has been known as fact for many years now that there was enough serum for three injections of United States men. All of that serum was used on people, meaning that there were three soldiers created."

"That's impossible, sir." Steve argued. "I was the first soldier the serum was used on, and during that test all other serum was destroyed when a german assassin managed to gain access."

"That's what you were told Captain Rogers. But that was not the case, there was one documented administration before yours. The man used in that test is sitting in this very room." Fury motioned to Bucky who weakly waved at his friend.

"You?" Confusion filled Steve's face. "But…"

"Did you really think puberty hit me that well that one day I had almost no muscle definition and the next I'd grown five inches and had muscles upon muscles?" Bucky asked his best friend raising an eyebrow.

"Why'd you never tell me."

"I was under orders not too." Bucky said with a shrug. "Stark and the others treated me well and compensated me heavily for participating, I was told to keep everything under wraps so I did."

"As I was saying," Fury interrupted commanding everyone's attention once more. "Three men were injected, two injections were documented, both of those men are currently in this room. That leaves a third unaccounted for, unlike Bucky, the test on the third person wasn't authorized, we only know for sure because one of Howard's men leaked the information along with a paper trail Howard thought he'd destroyed. The man didn't have much information on the subject though, just that it was surprising a successful administration. We do know that Howard ran the test on an orphan that we believe was around the age of five. Until recently we didn't have any knowledge of how Howard knew the boy and we still don't know how he convinced the boy to be a lab rat. We don't even know what happened to the boy beyond that he survived the test. A few years ago, after digging for nearly seventy years, he finally uncovered a name for the boy, Antoni Rivaldi. He was an immigrant from Italy during the late thirties, he traveled over with his parents but they died shortly after entering the country along with his uncle. We ran the name to try to find further records, the only mention was in Howard's guest book for the 1937 Stark Expo. We have no idea why the boy was picked besides being an orphan. While this information is all interesting there are still a lot of blank spaces to fill in. And SHIELD is hoping to use the Avengers to speed up the process, we've been looking for seventy years and that's all we have, however given recent events," Fury couldn't help but look at both Steve and Bucky. "we believe the Avengers are exactly the people who can find Antoni Rivaldi."

"Why don't you ask Tony if he knows anything about an Antoni? You said Stark was the one who did all of this, maybe he talked about it at home." Clint offers.

"They have before." Tony supplies trying not to seem extra guarded. "Beyond Capsicle, dear dad never really mentioned super soldiers. He occasionally referenced Bucky but he didn't seem all that found of talking about the program."

"Howard got too attached." Bucky speaks cautiously not wanting to lead anyone to believe he knows more then Tony. He did however make a point to only look at Steve. "I stayed with him a few years off and on after I'd been injected, they were testing just exactly what the serum did to someone. Howard used the pretense that his facilities were better equipped so others wouldn't question his decision, but he always told me that he thought of me as a son. He was pretty bitter when the group told him I had to enlist. I'm sure those bitter feelings never went away, it's not very surprising if he didn't want to talk about the program.

"Did he ever mention this third soldier? Did you ever hear the name?" Natasha quizzed.

Bucky pretended to think a minute before answering. "I once met a young boy, Howard brought him to the house for a few hours and it was my job to entertain him. The boy had incredible strength and I suspected he might have been injected with the serum, but I never saw him again. A friend of Howard came and collected the boy late in the night. I was instructed to never speak of him. I wasn't allowed to know the boy's name. It's highly possible that boy was the third super soldier, but it was also obvious that Howard didn't want anyone to know the boy existed. If that was the case then it will be very hard to find out anything on the boy. I'm sure Tony can attest, Howard Stark probably got rid of more then a little boy in his life time."

"Dear old dad did have a niche for making people drop off the edge of the earth."

"Tony, do you have an older brother? If I was trying to hide someone, I'd hide them in plain site. I mostly only ask though because Howard once mentioned he had to get home before his son got worried. He was distracted at the time so I thought maybe he just misspoke because at the time he didn't have a son or even a wife, but maybe—" Steve contributed to the conversation.

"Might have, but if I did I never met him. He'd have been ages older then me, and if he was anything like me I wouldn't blame him for never coming around to family events." Tony says shrugging. "If I did it might explain dad's odd behavior. He'd take off for weeks at a time with no explanation, whenever I asked Maria, she'd just shrug and say it didn't concern me. She always did sound bitter, when I got older I just assumed he had a mistress he was entertaining. Maybe it was another kid, might explain why he always came back angry and bitter. Might also explain why I was such a disappointment, no way I could compare to a super soldier son. I was just a genius."

 _"You're going to have to stay quieter then ever." Howard warned Antoni. He'd come up with the perfect plan. Maria had already agreed to marry him, no one would find it odd if she got 'pregnant' shortly after. She was a frail women, so it would make sense if she stayed out of the public eye. He could pay off a midwife to say the birth had happened and create a birth certificate. They'd claim his son was too frail of a child to be out in public until five years had passed, Then Antoni would become that fake son. He'd be able to age if he wanted too, that was one of the stipulations of the serum. He'd make Antoni his real son. Antoni would become Anthony. "No leaving the house at all. And if people are here, you'll have to stay locked in my room."_

 _"What about Maria?" Antoni had met the women a few times and seemed to like her._

 _"Jarvis and Maria know you exist and that's okay. Neither will tell anyone."_

 _"Are you still going to look for Bucky?"_

 _"Of course." His father said. "But first, this is more important. Now go to sleep." He tucked his son into his bed and kissed his forehead as he turned out the light. One nice thing about Antoni, was even though it'd been six years since he'd come to live with Howard he was still a little five year old who loved his father and unfortunately missed his brother._

"It's going to be hard to keep them off of the trail." Bucky said. They were once again alone in the lab, safe in the knowledge that the other Avengers were in their beds or not in the tower.

"If they find out, they find out. How bad could it really get? I'm already a soldier." Tony offered up taking a break from welding the joint for Bucky's new arm.

"You're still classified as a civilian, Iron Man is a tool they use. You're no soldier. They have no claim on you."

"Nor you." Tony pointed out munching on the sandwich Bucky had made him. His favorite, raspberry jelly with peanut butter on white bread.

"I was honorably discharged due to dying. You on the other hand have been avoiding them for years. You're not a little five year old anymore Antoni, they can and will send you to war."

"Steve isn't fighting in the war." Tony pointed out.

"Yes, but that's because he's the pretty boy that makes America look good. They don't want to loose him again. They just got him back. You on the other hand have been avoiding service for 70 years."

"I'll have to tell the Captain that you think he's pretty. Besides they can't deploy me. I'm still Iron Man, I'm more valuable here."

"You're extremely valuable as Iron Man the soldier. Isn't that what they already have your friend doing."

"Yes, but…" Tony couldn't come up with an argument.

"I know it's going to be hard, Tony. But that's what brothers do."

"All these years and you're still looking out for me." Tony scoffed.

"All these years and you still need someone to look out for you." Bucky added roughing up his hair. Once he's done picking on Tony he pulls out his wallet, deep inside is a folded up picture that he pulls out. It's Howard, Antoni and himself sitting in front of the christmas tree, all three proudly wearing matching sweaters that Jarvis made for them, smiling for the camera. Tony presumes Jarvis was the one taking the picture.

"I forgot about that day." Tony says fondly holding the picture.

"The best christmas we ever had." Bucky says equally as fond, he places a hand on his little brother's shoulder. "Makes me wish the war had never happened. Then we could have been a family.:

"You know I could always go back to being a five year old." Tony says knowing that he truthfully could. "Then they couldn't make me serve."  
"You have a life, Tony. You can't do that and you know it. How old are you now anyway? Up close you don't look a day over twenty really."

"Forty two." Tony says with a shrug. "But I didn't age past twenty. I didn't want to be older then you. I've got ways of making me look older without actually aging."

Bucky laughed. "Only you." He said shaking his head.

"Sir, Steve Rogers is looking for Bucky."

"Let him look." Bucky said glancing at the door to the heavily guarded lab. "It's not like he's going to find me in here. Or that he'd even look."

 _"Did you find him yet?" Tony asked Howard Stark. He'd graduated from MIT that day. Howard had always promised him that he'd have Bucky home by then._

 _"No." Howard admitted defeat. "Hydra got to him before I could. He's been compromised Tony."_

 _"You're a good for nothing liar." Tony had yelled at him angry before stomping off. Howard had only sighed. He understood Tony's anger wasn't directly related to his failure to find his brother in time. It was also grief, grief of knowing that he wasn't coming home. No matter what Bucky had promised him, he wouldn't be coming home._

 _Howard watched with pride as his son had ascended the stage stairs where he'd given a beautiful speech and received numerous awards. He was happy that after so many years, Antoni had been able to live a normal life. Even if that life was without Bucky._

"I swear to god, give me that popcorn, or I'm giving you a dutch oven." Bucky yells at Tony as the man runs around the room. Both are too caught up in the movie and their fun to realize they're being watched by the other Avengers.

"Nope, mine." Tony yells laughing as he narrowly evades capture by Bucky. It is almost two in the morning, but both seem to have forgotten the hour of day along with the fact that they're supposed to be strangers. Instead they're back at Howard's mansion, wrestling and goofing around while watching a movie; with Howard watching in mild amusement pretending that they're annoying him.

"Antoni, I swear to god, you either share the goods or the second I get my hands on you you're a dead man."

"Not happening, soldier." Tony mocks him, while sitting down on the couch. He pretends to have given up on the game only to launch himself to the other side of the room the moment Bucky sits down beside him.

The other Avengers watch for a long time, taking the scene in. None know what to think about it. They'd been awoken from their beds by the noise, concerned a battle had been going on in the living room, none prepared for what was actually going on. None of them had ever seen Tony act so childish, that on it's own had boughten their temporary silence. The happiness that was radiating from his body, was just as foreign and had left them unable to move. They were even more surprised when their not very quiet arrival, hadn't even registered to the two men. Both were and continued to be oblivious to the many sets of eyes watching them. It wasn't until after Bucky successfully pinned Tony down and gave him the promised dutch oven that the other noise they'd been making quieted enough for the group to hear what the two men were saying, only adding to their confusion.

"Say you concede, Antoni." Bucky yells at his younger brother while Tony gags beneath the blanket, actively attempting to move out from underneath Bucky.

"Never." Tony manages to cry out through both blanket and stench.

"Concede, concede as dishonorably as the Germans did during the war." Bucky demands, not budging as he feels Tony try to push him off of his throne.

Through both gagging and coughing the younger boy manages to get out the single word, "Never."

"Antoni, you're not going to win." Bucky insists, readjusting himself.

"I will too." Tony yells in triumph as he finally successfully manages to dethrone bucky and escape the deadly oven he'd been put into. Once out, he snatches the popcorn away from his brother, eating a large handful before spitting into the bucket, marking it as his.

"Andy give it back." Bucky whines, pretending to be interested in the movie. When if he was completely honest he didn't even know the title much less the plot of the film.

"Never." Tony said while throwing a pillow at him.

"Oh, it's on, Antoni." Bucky growled. "And just remember Howard isn't here to save you anymore."

At this Clint regains his control over his body and decides to clear his throat, processing and filing all the information he'd just gained as he does so. As the two men's bubble of ignorance is abruptly popped both of their faces turn from ones of happiness and joy to horror as they take in the Avengers watching them.

"How long have you guys been standing there?" Tony asked pretending to be innocently curious.

"Long enough to realize you and Bucky aren't new acquaintances." Natasha says plopping herself down onto the couch, deciding to take the tactic of allowing the others to interrogate the pair.

"And that he calls you Andy" Clint says moving to follow Natasha's lead. Most likely Steve will be the lead interrogator for this situation. "If I called you Andy I don't think I'd survive the night." Clint finishes moving the soiled popcorn that had been left on the couch out of his way so he can sit next to Natasha.

"And to realize that you're most likely not Anthony Stark." Banner says following the spies leads he sits down on the couch as well.

"You're the third super soldier aren't you." Steve wasn't asking, he was making a statement. His eyes narrowing onto Tony and Bucky. "You're Antoni Rivaldi." He accuses Tony as if being associated with the name is a crime. "Looks like you've got some explaining to do. Fast." Steve adds when neither deny his accusations.

Tony exchanges a look with Bucky, unsure of if he should cave or not. Bucky the moment their eyes meet starts speaking.

"You're right, Agent, Tony and I have known each other on a personal level for many years."

"Are you or are you not Antoni Rivaldi?" Steve insists, asking Tony, completely ignoring Bucky's words.

"I once was." Tony decides to answer honestly. "When Bucky last knew me, that was the name I answered too. As well as for the first forty years my father knew me."

"How old are you." Steve asks, Tony still hadn't admitted to being the third super soldier. He almost wanted to wish that the conclusions he was drawing weren't true, there had to be another explanation. Or maybe SHIELD was wrong about the name Antoni Rivaldi, but deep down Steve knew there was only one explanation.

"I'm not actually sure my real age." Tony says looking to Bucky for support, but his brother doesn't know either. Tony's age had never been something Howard had really addressed, when Tony had a birthday, which wasn't actually known either and was instead the day he met Howard, they'd never celebrated an age, just another year as a family.. "I was around five when Howard found me all those years ago at his 1939 expo, but I'm not sure what my exact age was then."

"So no matter what, you're over 70 years old." Barton supplied.

"Technically." Tony answered.

"How do you two know each other?" Steve asks, wanting to get all the information he can while Tony and Bucky are willing to talk. He knows that after this night, they'll probably try to never speak of it again.

"Antoni was living with Howard when I was brought to his house after being inducted into the Super Soldier Initiative. Howard introduced us moments after I was brought into his home. Antoni and I became quick friends. Howard raised us as his own sons. We were and are for all intents and purposes brothers." Bucky answers Steve.

"Why was Antoni never inducted into the super soldier program?" Romanoff asks, curious about Howard's intentions when he decided to mask Tony's true identity and what he'd done to the boy.

"I wasn't lying when I told you the other day that Howard wasn't happy when I was sent off to war. He saw me as his own flesh and blood. No one knew about Antoni, he wasn't even supposed to exist. He believed all his staff to be loyal, so it wasn't hard for him to keep Antoni's enhancements a secret by keeping him away from the public. If my injection hadn't been chosen and ordered by those in the Government that even Howard bowed down too, I have no doubt that like Anthony Howard would have kept me a secret as well. While Howard was a weapons manufacturer, contrary to popular belief he had a heart and a conscious. He believed that human enhancement was an evil after he'd seen what it did to Antoni when he first tested the serum, Steve if you remember how it felt for you as I do for myself, Howard and Antoni have both told me that that first injection was a thousand times worse. Howard lost faith in the program after it and only continued with it knowing that others would be created, and he might as well make it better for others. After doing that too Antoni though, he felt he needed to make it up to him, so Antoni became his top priority. I was his next, and he hated that he had to willingly let me leave for war, but we were both glad Antoni didn't have to face the same fate. Howard and I protected him. Besides Howard I was the only one who knew exactly what Tony was, and being his older brother I wasn't about to seal his fate to be the same as mine. Besides, I feel even as corrupted as the United States Government is over power, they'd feel it wasn't right to send a five year old boy into the heart of a war as a weapon."

"I thought you said you were five when you were found by Howard." Banner asked furrowing his brow.

"I was." Tony answers, more subdued then usual. "A part of the serum makes it so I can age physically however I want. When I was young, there was never a reason for me to age, so I didn't, Howard didn't want me to either, so I didn't. I was five for close to forty years. It actually was a great age, much better then twelve or twenty."

 _"Happy Birthday to You." Antoni and Howard sung to Bucky as loud and off key as they could muster. Rousing the unruly teenager from his sleep, offering cake and ice cream for breakfast as a peace offering._

 _"How old are you now anyway?" Howard asked jokingly, acting as if he didn't know._

 _"Seventeen." Bucky said proudly rubbing the sleep out of his eyes._

 _"I wish I was sixteen." Antoni said slightly bitter. "Then I could drive too."_

 _"I'll take you wherever you want if Howard ever lets us out of this house." Bucky said roughing up the younger boy's hair._

"So, what do we do now?" Clint asks, looking between Bucky and Tony.

"You ignore the situation." Bucky says with a deadly tone in his voice. "Antoni died years ago. He and Tony are no more the same person then I and Steve."

"But that's not true." Steve says his voice a emotionless whisper as he glares at Bucky. "The Bucky I knew wouldn't lie to his superiors, not about something this big."

"The Bucky you knew didn't have a little brother." Bucky said his eyes narrowing as he moved to place a hand on Antoni's shoulder.

"You two aren't even biologically related." Steve yelled glaring at the two.

"Doesn't make us any less of a family." Tony said glaring at Steve.

 _"HE WASN'T EVEN YOUR REAL BROTHER." Howard yelled, frustrated about his inability to find the two missing super soldiers and his son's insistence that he wasn't trying hard enough to find them._

 _"We're as much brothers as any biologically related brothers. You raised us to act so."_

 _"No, I didn't. I brought him here to keep you company."_

 _"Which he did." Tony yelled aggravated with his father. "Don't you understand how much I miss him?"_

 _"Tony." Howard's mannerisms softened as he saw the hurt embedded in his son's eyes. "I know you don't want to hear this but…"_

 _"SHUT UP." Tony roared at his father, cutting off the words he couldn't bear to hear out loud. "Don't you dare say it."_

 _"Tony, it will only do you good if you…"_

 _"I SAID SHUT UP." Tears were falling freely down his face as he glared at his dad. "He's not dead. He can't be dead. He promised me. He promised me he'd come back."_

 _"Tony… you're smart enough to—-"_

 _"Don't you talk to me." Tony said looking away from his father, he doesn't bother to wipe the tears away from his face. "I'll be gone again in a few days. And I don't want to see you again before I leave. Not unless you have some good news about Bucky."_

 _"Tony—-" Before Howard could say anything else, the eight year old boy had left the laboratory. His sobs audible down the hallways as he ran to his room. Howard knew he should follow the boy but he didn't know what to say. So instead he left the comforting of his son to Maria and Jarvis. Tony, if not Antoni, had always preferred the company of Jarvis anyway. Instead Howard walked over to the large arctic map dominating an entire wall of the lab. With a sigh he crossed off another section of square mileage. No matter what Tony thought, he really was trying to locate the lost super soldiers, he just hadn't realized how big the arctic was until he had to begin searching it._

"So—, what do we do now?" Banner finally voiced the question that was in the back of all their minds.

"You tread carefully." Bucky cautioned moving to stand in front of Tony. Tony shifted so the older man was blocking him from view of his teammates. "And pretend you know none of this information. Tony is not Antoni, Antoni is not Tony. Anthony Stark is a Howard Stark blood descendant."

"We can't do that." Steve said hurt in his eyes as he looked at his former friend.

"You can and you will, or I will personally annihilate everyone who stands in my way of keeping Tony's secret." Bucky threatened his voice not raising or showing any more emotion then one would use when asking an acquaintance if they'd like a drink.

"Tony, he killed your father and mother." Steve shot out his words dripping with venom. He believed he knew Tony well after spending the last few months with him. Even if Tony appeared to hate Howard, his death was a touchy subject. "He almost killed you."

"He was compromised." Tony says plainly. "He also saved my life."

 _"Tony." Howard screeched as the car flew through the air. When Tony didn't respond his voice raised two octaves and got desperate. "Antoni, answer me." The man shouted as the car stopped rolling. He could feel a large piece of metal piercing his abdomen, he knew he wouldn't survive, but that wouldn't matter as long as his son was okay. "Antoni." Finally he saw Antoni move and he breathed a sigh of relief._

 _"Dad." He moaned, unable to focus his eyes to see his father._

 _"Antoni, stay with me." Howard insisted, reaching out he grabbed his son's head and forced him to look at himself._

 _"I hurt…" Antoni moaned._

 _"I know…" Howard said not knowing how to comfort Tony. His eyes drifted over to Maria, she was already dead. When his eyes drifted back to his son, Tony was trying to close his own. "Stay Awake, Antoni." Howard yelled. "You need to stay awake or you'll never wake up." He insisted as his own vision started to swim. He was loosing a lot of blood. He'd have to leave Tony soon. "Stay awake."_

 _"Okay." Tony agreed to his father's demands, his own eyes focusing on his fathers._

 _"You'll be fine, Tony." Howard reassured him. "You're brilliant. You don't need anyone anymore."_

 _"You're leaving like Bucky aren't you?" Suddenly Tony felt like he was five years old again._

 _"I'm right here for now." Howard reassured Tony, but he knew that wasn't fair. The paramedics wouldn't get here in time, he, Howard Stark would die. But his legacy wouldn't, Tony would make sure the Stark name lived on. Howard was sure of that. "Antoni, make sure you keep your secret." Howard said as his vision started going black._

 _"Of course." Tony whispered tears falling down his face as he watched his father die. Tony was surprised he hadn't heard sirens yet, then again it was late at night, someone might not have even driven by yet to call the paramedics. Tony lost track of time, his mind swimming unable to focus. He thought he might die if someone didn't come and rescue him from the car soon. It was then he heard a noise outside the car, he turned his head to look out the broken window only to see Bucky standing there. "Must be about time then." He said looking at his brother sadly, Bucky's face copying the emotion. "How you been Bucky? I've missed you." He began babbling. He was still babbling when he felt Bucky's arms lift him out of the car. He babbled to Bucky until the paramedics were close by. He babbled and Bucky occasionally replied. While Antoni babbled, Bucky worked on keeping him alive. It took a lot of work to make sure he'd be alive when the paramedics finally got there, but Bucky did it. Then he disappeared into the night._

"Bucky, I knew you for years."

"So?" Bucky asked stiffening as his friend grabbed his shoulder.

"So, how did I never know?"

"Wasn't that hard. Mum and Dad were paid off by Stark to keep my location a secret when I was at his place. Howard would let me go home every few days to keep you from getting suspicious. He'd make excuses about where I was to keep Antoni off his back about leaving too. I found out later that Mum and Dad weren't even my real parents. Stark had been paying them for years to keep me alive, they were his employees."

"You mean…" Suddenly everything hit Rogers, the fact that Bucky and Tony had been turned into soldiers before him, meant that his "miraculous finding" hadn't been so miraculous. That week at camp hadn't really been a test. It had all been orchestrated by higher powers.

"Yes." Is all Bucky says, his eyes showing his sympathy as Steve's world comes crashing down.

"Those sons of…"

"Language." Bucky says smiling at their old joke, Steve not really acknowledging it. Already stomping out of the room, no doubt headed to Stark's in house gym.

 _"I don't understand." Pepper had yelled at him. Her hands thrown into the air in frustration. "Why you can't let people in Tony…" His head had snapped up her words finally catching his attention. He felt uncontrollable anger that began shaking his body. He lept to his feet and he saw Pepper visibly cringe away from him. He didn't know where her original frustration had come from, but now he was equally frustrated. Frustrated that no one could know the truth that laid behind his fortified mental walls, he has tired of pretending. Tired of being someone else. Living someone else's life, eating, sleeping, breathing a nonexistent person's life. He knew it wasn't fair to blame all of that on Pepper, but dammit he couldn't blame the man whose fault his life was. He felt himself get into Pepper's face._

 _"Because, I've been trained not too." He says in a deadly whisper before pushing past her and walking to his lab where he locks her out, frosts the glass and dims the lights so she can't see him upset. She doesn't even try. They never do._

"I can't believe that you told the Government!" Tony screamed as he entered the common floor all the Avengers shared. Steve was sitting at the kitchen counter, deliberately, he doesn't turn to face Tony like all the other Avengers do. He listens to Tony's footfalls, there is someone behind him. Steve can only assume that someone is Bucky. "Rogers." The other man roared, demanding the attention Steve didn't want to give him.

"Damn it Steve." This time the words came from someone other then Tony, the hurt and betrayal in that person's voice ripped at Steve's heart.

"I did what I had to do." Steve said turning around a cup of coffee in his hand. Tony was a foot behind in front of him, Bucky was backing him up.

"You did exactly what we asked you not to do." Bucky growled, his mechanical arm, which it looked like Stark had upgraded, flexing.

"What's going on here guys?" Banner asked stepping between the two fighting parties. The other Avengers had an idea of what was going on but needed more information before any fights broke out and they were forced to choose sides.

"Captain Spangled Ass here, decided it would be a great idea to talk to a reporter about how we'd found the third super solider." Tony spat at the other man through Banner. "Mentioned names, dropped locations and stories he has no idea about. I had Fury knocking over my coffee when I went out this morning because of it. I only barely escaped him and his team of monkeys. He'll be here soon. So get out of my way Banner, so I can finish what Captain here started and be gone by the time the big man shows up."

"I can't do that, Tony." Banner said looking between the two men. "I know you're angry now but…"

"I passed angry about two blocks back, Big Guy, I've reached nuclear warfare level. Now move."

"I can't do that…"  
"I said to fucking move." Tony yelled, pushing Banner harshly out of the way. His skin flaring up, extremis threatening to take him over. If it hadn't been for the super soldier serum he'd probably have toasted the room already. As he approaches Steve, grabbing him by the throat, he sees Banner start to go green out of the corner of his eye, but Natasha is already helping him calm down. He can hear Clint trying to do the same with himself but his voice blurrs until it was just a roar in his ears. It didn't help that while Bucky will probably feel bad later, he is currently keeping the other Avengers away from them as Tony smashes Steve into a wall. The man iss able to do nothing as Tony does so, his usual strength no match for Tony's.

"You think you did the right thing now?" Tony yells at Steve. "You think you did the right thing by ruining everything Howard worked for in his life in a matter of minutes?" Slam. "You think you did the right thing by exposing Bucky." Slam. "You think you did the right thing by violating the trust we put in you." Slam. "You still think you're a fucking saint." Tony's fury was accented by tears, red hot burning tears that are leaving scars as they fall down his face. He is unable to see past his rage. The other Avengers are unable to react, even the Big Guy who Natasha hadn't been able to convince to go away can just stare as Tony's raw emotions, come forward. None have ever seen him this way. And all are scared, especially Steve. "You're not." Tony yells throwing the Captain down to the ground. "You're fucking not. You've cost just as many lives as you've ever saved."

"Says the Merchant of Death." Steve doesn't know what possesses his mouth to say the words, but Tony visibly recoils acting as if Steve has slapped him. Steve sees Tony's foot move seconds before it smashes his nose, yet he can't will his body to move.

"Who the hell told you that name? Who told it to you?" Tony screams louder then before. Natasha slowly creep closely, scared Tony will do something he'll deeply regret later. Besides Banner, she's perhaps the closest in the group to Tony, she'd certainly known him the longest. So she feels obligated to protect him from himself. That is until she sees the wild look in his eyes, a look that scares even her, a woman who has been trained not to fear. It's the look of an animal that's been running all it's life from predators only to finally be caught. A look of pure desperation and willingness to do anything to escape. That's not what scares her, she's seen the look more times then she's able to count. What scares her is the fact that this emotion is the realist emotion she's ever seen on Tony's face. She wants to end the look, stop him from hurting or at least from showing her that hurt, but the only way she knows how is a way she's not willing to use on Tony. She quickly retreats. Someone else will have to stop him, but it can't be her.

"Enough, Mr. Stark." Fury calls out, his timing perfect as the Black Widow retreats. He's followed by a team of Agents with SWAT certified gear on.

"You need to leave." Bucky speaks calmly while moving toward the army of agents, weapons drawn and loaded.

Fury puts his hands up and motions for his team to temporarily stand down. "I come with no intentions to harm anyone in this building, Mr. Barnes. I only wish for Mr. Stark to remove his hands from Captain Rogers." The two enter a standoff while Tony is still fighting Steve, who at least has begun fighting back a little. Defending himself from Tony's punches more then anything else. After a few minutes, Bucky caves looking away from Fury and toward Tony. "IJish Riekch, Rogers." Bucky speaks an old language that he and Tony had created by combining English, German and Italian before either (but mostly Tony who spoke little english) had been fluent enough in the respective languages to communicate with one another. While Howard had made sure that day came as soon as possible, the language had been something special between the two boys and was often spoken when they wanted no one else, not even Howard to know what they were talking about. Bucky had told Tony to stop fighting Rogers.

"Rogers, Youwkjuw kjjoywou joyw." Tony spat back his vision still clouded in red. He told Bucky that Rogers deserved everything he got.

"Ijish Riekch, Antoni. Anakish." Bucky says again, adding the equivalent of enough being enough, knowing that Tony would infer that he was about to step between the two if necessary. While glaring at his brother, Tony slowly picked himself up off of Rogers and dusted off his clothes pretending to be unintersted, but everyone could still see the animal look in his eyes. No one doubted that besides Bucky, Tony saw no one in the room, only threats to his safety. But his defenses were once again up, his mask and routines falling back into place. As quickly as it had fallen, Tony's walls were once again built, shielding what the man truly thinks from everyone. It's quickly obvious that only Bucky knows what Tony is thinking, giving the two the upper hand.

"Make your men stand down." Bucky orders Fury once Tony has collected himself and come to stand behind him. Bucky's own weapons are still drawn, keeping everyone at bay and away from Stark.,

"Leave." Fury orders, compiling to Bucky's wishes. He watches as his men quickly leave. Once they are gone Fury motions to Bucky's own weapons. "I'm unarmed, Mr. Barnes. I don't think those are necessary."

"I think they are, as I'm sure Agent Romanoff and Barton are armed as well."

"Barton, Romanoff." Reluctantly the two assassins set all their weapons down across the room, away from where they can reach. Once they return to their side of the room, Fury motions to Bucky once more.

"Now put the weapons down soldier." Fury orders, his one eye focused past Bucky to Tony who has no emotions displayed on his face. A mask so unreadable in place, that Fury almost believes Stark has finally snapped and left behind his humanity. He'd always believed it was only a matter of time, the man had seen more horrors in his lifetime (which was apparently longer then anyone knew) then any man ever should. It was surprising that Tony wasn't in a mental ward if Fury was honest with himself, he believed that Stark should be there.

"No." Bucky says as Tony slowly comes back to life, his features contorting as he seems to have an idea. A slow smile (admittedly slightly insane), spreads across his face as he moves to the kitchen. Bucky backing up to cover him, never taking his eyes off of the other men in the room as he does so.

"Want some waffles." Tony asks all the Avengers as if nothing has happened, shrugging before beginning to whistle when no one answers continuing to make the treat he's always loved. A treat Howard had always made him when he was upset, a treat that has always made him feel better. Instead everyone watches in silence as they watch Tony work, all baffled by the men's behavior. For the most part they'd always found Tony's behavior baffaling, and perhaps they were just realizing fully why. They'd always known Tony wore a thick mask, but they'd never dreamed of how thick it really was. Despite no one trying to interfere, Bucky remains on guard while Natasha attempts to tend to Steve even though with his hyper healing medical attention isn't really needed.

"Since when does Tony know how to cook?" Clint asks finally breaking the silence impressed by his friend's ability, when normally it seemed Tony couldn't even crack an egg.

"I went to culinary school when I was seven." Clint is shocked that the man answers, but is even more shocked by the answer. Despite knowing him for almost four years now, the Avengers know very little of Tony's past. "I took a five year program in a few weeks. I've got a Masters in Culinary Arts."

"So why am I the one who is always cooking?" Clint asks dumbfounded by Tony's revelation.

"You guys have never asked me to make you anything." Tony shrugs.

"That's because Pepper told us that you've lived on takeout for years."

"It's tedious to only cook for one person. Pepper should have also told you that I used to make us meals all the time."

"Tony." A new voice male voice calls from around the corner as the elevator opens. Everyone turns to see who the new comer might be.

"Rhodey?" Tony calls out unable to see if it was his best friend but recognizing his voice from around the corner. "Kitchen."

"Whatchya making?" He asks ignoring the others gathered in the room. Besides Fury he has never been fully introduced to anyone but he knows who everyone is.

"Waffles."

"With cinnamon, vanilla and the secret ingredient you refuse to tell me."

"Yeah, want some?"

"Yeah." Rhodey tried to come closer to help Tony but Bucky blocks his path.

"It's okay Buck, Rhodey's cool." Bucky steps aside still blocking anyone else from accessing Tony.

"I feel like I can cut the tension in this room with a knife it's so thick, and while you cooking can sometimes be nerve wracking, I doubt it's whats causing it all. Did I walk in on something here, or…?"

"I just lost my temper and now they're all angry." Tony shrugs it off as no big deal. Not one to push him when not necessary Rhodey takes the answer. "Pepper's not with you is she?"

"No, she stopped me on the way up but… well… you know."

"Yeah, was just making sure. I thought she might use showing you around as an excuse to come up."

"Why would she need an…" Natasha starts to ask.

"Tony and Pepper broke up a few days back." Clint answers in a monotone whisper trying not to draw attention to their conversation. "From what Tony told me, it was a rocky ending. I don't know if Tony knows this but I was talking to some people downstairs earlier and they told me she's resigning as CEO."

"How have you been buddy?" Tony asks his Rhodey, clasping him on the back before continuing to make the waffles.

"As good as I can be while overseas."

"What do they have you doing over there?"

"Stuff. You know I can't talk about work in front of large groups." Rhodey says highly aware that most occupants of the room are trained in espionage.

"They all have high enough clearance." Tony says particularly looking at Fury who is glaring at him.

"Whose the body guard?" Rhodey asks, smoothly for himself, changing the subject. In response Bucky snorts but doesn't correct him.

"That's Buck." Tony says knowing Rhodey will recognize the name.

"Your brother Bucky?"

"Yup." He says as he starts pouring batter into the preheated waffle iron.

A new found respect fills Rhodey's eyes as he approaches Bucky. "Welcome home Soldier." Rhodey says shaking Bucky's hand. "Tony's told me a lot about you."

"Welcome home as well, I wish I could say the same but…"

"It's fine, Tony told me you two haven't been able to be in contact since you were deployed." Bucky shoot Tony a confused look over the other man's shoulder.

"Yeah, I told Rhodey shortly after we first met at MIT that you were a highly decorated member of the armed forces with numerous awards in a undercover operation unit, since he was going into the Air Force and all."

"Uh yes, I just got back from overseas a week ago." Bucky says motioning to his arm. "Honorably discharged."

"Did Tony make you the…" Rhodey just motioned to his prosthetic.

"This one." Bucky says with a nod.

"It's a nice model." Rhodey says inspecting it. "Stark Industries should produce it from war vetrans."

"Already on it." Tony says not looking up from his precise measuring of batter. "The bots and I are starting a charity for it, any war veteran can receive a prosphetic free of charge. They'll be a press release sometime next week."

"What about…?"

"Taken care of already." Tony says waving off Bucky's concern.

"That first waffle for me then."

"Bucky then you."

"I always get the first waffle."

"Not when Bucky's here."

"Bucky's never been here before."

"Exactly, now you always get the second waffle."

"Gentlemen, can we please get back to the matter at hand?" Fury has finally lost his patience.

"I think it's been fully discussed." Tony says plopping a waffle down in front of Bucky who for the time being sits down and appears to relax.

"I don't think it is, Mr. Stark."

"What more is there to discuss?"

"There's a lot more, Tony." A new painfully familiar voice says as the owner enters the room.

"You're supposed to be dead." Tony says pointing to the man.

"So is he." The other man counters pointing at Bucky.

"Who is this?" Bucky asks assessing the man for potential threat.

"Agent Phil Coulson, Mr. Barnes." Phil says sticking his hand out for a shake.

"You know what, I'm done talking." Tony says, grabbing his plate he leaves the room. No one follows, the Avengers focused on Phil's not being dead, the others too scared of pissing off Bucky to follow. Eventually, when given a nod, it's Rhodey who goes to track down Tony, shortly followed by Bucky.


	2. A note

If you would like faster story updates share with me a google drive email and I will share the stories on drive with you. I have limited access to this site with my laptop yet I write tons and always have a lot I want to publish. So anyways, my email is philbrickma17 . If you're interested in this offer you can email me so I can then add you to the list of permitted viewers of my drive. Don't worry, this doesn't mean I'm no longer updating on this site, it just means that if you want fast updates as I write the pieces there is a way for you to do so.


	3. Chapter 2

" _Happy Birthday Tony."_

 _"_ _It's not my birthday."_

 _"_ _What are you talking about, of course it's your birthday." Howard says, motioning for Maria to stop filming. Tony's never been a morning kind of person, but he thought that today he might be if greeted with presents and birthday cake. Both of which are in Howard's hands._

 _"_ _No, it's not."_

 _"_ _Tony, it's April 21st." Maria says, hoping that Tony will catch on._

 _"_ _I know." The boy says rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "But it's not my birthday. No one knows when my birthday is."_

 _"_ _We've always celebrated your birthday on this day." Howard says sitting down beside his son._

 _"_ _So." Tony says shrugging. "I don't want it to be my birthday, so it isn't." Tony says. Howard finally understands._

 _"_ _You want Bucky to be here don't you."_

 _"_ _He can't miss six in a row." Tony says his voice sounding sad._

 _"_ _Tony…" Howard doesn't know what to say, so he says nothing for a minute. It's only when Jarvis enters the room with the rest of Tony's presents that anyone moves again. "Happy fourth birthday, son." Howard says messing up Tony's hair. He stands up and leads Maria into the hallway. "I'm making waffles, Tony. Then I promise, it doesn't have to be your birthday."_

 _"_ _...now would everyone raise their glasses, to my son Tony Stark." Howard finishes his speech with a lavish bow and the polishing off of his drink as all his guests clap for his son. Tonight is Tony's birthday, not that Tony really wants to be reminded, much less have such a large party. Tony hasn't liked birthdays for years, but since his fifth birthday and introduction to society, Howard has made celebration mandatory._ _It's the one time a year the press and the world see Tony. Otherwise he's locked in the house or at boarding school, advancing science in ways that Howard could only dream to do yet_ _often takes credit for._

 _"_ _Thanks_ _Dad." Tony says stepping forward to the microphone, a smile that his father has trained into him forced on his face for everyone to see as if it's effortless. "And thank you all for your support. It's for all of you that I continue my work in science, for I hope to one day bring you a better world. A world where Peace is a reality and soldiers are no longer lost in war. Thank you and goodnight." With that Tony bows, shoots the press one last wink then leaves. Going back to his room where his work on his AI is awaiting him._

When Bucky finds Tony, he's putting the finishing touches on Bucky's new new arm. He's angry, that much is clear. From the way his muscles are tensed to the way he barks at his robots, it's clear that nothing can be said to calm him down. Still Bucky walks into the room. He says nothing, he just takes a seat down at one of Tony's various benches. He watches as Tony pounds furiously on the metal of his new arm. He's much reminded of a younger Tony. When Tony stops moving, his chest heaving but all anger finally gone from his body, Bucky speaks.

"Tony..."

"He was supposed to be dead." Tony yells, chucking a hammer across the laboratory. Rhodey who was about to enter the room, quickly backs out. He motions over Tony's shoulder for Bucky to do the same but Bucky holds his ground. "I saw the damn cards. They were covered in… That lying son of a bitch." Tony punches to metal table. Bucky hears Tony's bones crack, but Tony doesn't even register the pain. "He… he..." Tony punches the table again, unable to even get the words out of his mouth.

"Antoni." Bucky gets up off his stool and walks toward Tony. Tony tenses when Bucky touches his shoulder but he doesn't swing. "You need to calm down." Bucky's words cause Tony to deflate. Tony, even when Bucky had known him, had always had a temper. When Bucky had been around, he'd been the only one who could talk Tony out of a fit. "Don't be angry your friend is alive, be grateful. A good man you know is still with you. That's nothing to be angry about."

"You're right." Tony admits. He cringes looking down at his hand. "Did I do that?"

"Yes." Bucky forgot that when Tony was angry he often had blackouts. "It'll be fine in a few hours."

"I know." Tony sighs. "I should go upstairs, shouldn't I Bucky."

"That's up to you." Bucky says himself headed for the stairs. "But you need to work out your feelings Antoni before they destroy you."

"We're going out for pizza." Tony arrives back upstairs a few minutes after Bucky, his hand is bandaged with gauze, a fact that doesn't go unnoticed by anyone. But they all stay quiet. Tony had ignored everyone in the room but Phil, his eyes had narrowed in on the man and his words had been directed toward him.

"Really, I know this great little place around the corner."

"Lead the way." Tony follows Phil out of the room, Bucky and Fury shadowing him. The rest of the Avengers, and Rhodey remain behind unsure on if they're invited to join in.

The walk to the pizza joint is short, once there Tony orders several pizzas for their table. Fury and Phil sit across from himself and Bucky. No one moves or speaks until the pizzas arrive hot from the oven. Then the silence is only broken by the sound of chewing. It's only once the pizza is gone that anyone speaks.

"So, you're not dead." Tony says staring down Phil.

"So, you're not really Howard Stark's son." Phil counters.

"Touché, but not true."

"Really, would you like to explain because last I was told you're the third super soldier and not at all Howard's son."

"Biologically, Howard and I may not be related, but I have a birth certificate saying that I am his and Maria's son."

"A forged birth certificate." Fury corrects.

"Not forged, that was a legally issued certificate, it was my birth that was forged." Tony corrects, slight annoyance in his voice at his conversation being weighed in on by outside parties.

"Same thing." Phil says.

"Not really." Tony says pulling out his debit card to cover the bill the waitress brings over.

"How did you and Howard first meet?" Phil asks. Fury had brought him back into the Avenger's lives to get the answers he needs, knowing that he's the only one that can get them out of Stark.

"Stark Expo, 1938, I think, it might have been 1937. I was just a five year old kid at the time so I wasn't really paying attention to dates. He'd just given a display of some technology, I had drawn out a few diagrams on how it worked just by watching. Howard walked by me, wasn't paying attention and knocked me on my ass. He was nice enough to pick me up off the ground, saw my sketches, asked some questions, concocted a plan, offered me a new life. At the time I was an orphan on the streets, his deal seemed fair, all I had to do was let him test a new experiment out on me. That's all there really is to the story."

"And James Barnes." Phil gestures to Bucky.

"Howard brought him home a few years after I'd been living with him. He disappeared for a few days, then boom, I had a new human being I was allowed to interact with. I hadn't been allowed to see anyone outside of Howard and Jarvis since the Expo. It was nice to have someone closer to my age in the house."

"Why didn't you ever tell anyone?"

"Howard told me not too. So I didn't. Not that I left the house much for the first forty years. I was only ever allowed to leave with Howard, and that wasn't often. Sometimes I'd travel with him to conferences and things, but I'd never get to leave the hotel. So even if I had wanted to tell someone, my point is there was no one to tell. It wasn't until I was Tony that I was allowed to interact with anyone outside of the house, and once Howard had forged by birth, who would have believe me?"


	4. Chapter 4

"He wasn't always a monster." Tony looks up at Jarvis. Howard Stark had died, 36 hours ago. Since his death Tony had fallen apart. He had shut himself away in his room the moment Jarvis had brought him back from the hospital and had yet to leave. Jarvis had gone to check on him several times, every time Tony at least pretended that he was sleeping. Now looking at him it's easy to see that the boy hasn't slept since before the accident. Jarvis sets the tray of food down on his bedside table before sitting next to the young teen. "I remember when he wasn't…" Tony leans into Jarvis' fatherly hug. "I wish I didn't. It would be so much easier if I didn't." Jarvis' heart breaks. He had raised this boy for the last twenty five years, after Howard had began to forget about him. But he too remembers a time where Tony was once the man's world.

"He loved you, Antoni." Jarvis whispers the boy's forbidden name. "He loved you more than anything else in this world."

"I know." Tony whispers his voice hoarse and broken from crying. "He loved Antoni, but he hated Tony."

"That isn't true." Jarvis lightly scolds, but even he isn't entirely sure. Howard Stark had been a changed man in his final years, if he did love Tony it was a hidden love.

"Everyone is gone, Jarvis. What's the point of me still being here. I should be dead too. Antoni died a long time ago, I'm tired of pretended to be someone i'm not. I'm tired of being Anthony Stark."

"You don't have to be." Jarvis muses. "Right now the fatalities of the crash have yet to be reported. We faked Anthony Stark's birth, we can fake his death too. Antoni can live now. One day someone may make the connection between you and Howard, but they'll just assume his grief stricken son wanted to be left alone. It's all up to you Anthony." With that Jarvis slowly rises off of Tony's bed. "Just know Tony whatever path you choose, there are still people that love you in this world. Your Aunt Peggy and I will always be around if you need us."

"You're sure about this?" Jarvis straightens Tony's tie.

"Positive." Tony bites his tongue when he realizes how wavering his voice sounds. He needs to pull himself together. "Positive." He repeats this time his voice much clearer.

"I'll go get the car." Jarvis ducks out of the room and into the garage leaving 17 year old Tony by himself. Tony instantly relaxes the moment Jarvis is out of site. It's taking all his will power to hold himself together. Howard and Maria died in a car crash just over a week ago, today is there funeral. Tony after much speculation has decided to attend. The event will be one of the biggest most attended functions of the year. Jarvis and Peggy had both advised Tony to stay home, assuring him that they would have a much smaller service afterward. Tony had bristled at the idea and became very adamant that he would attend. Social functions had never been his thing, tools, grease and machine shops had always been more of his style, but it was about time he learned about the other side of things. His father's will had been read today, Tony was to inherit all of his father's worldly possessions which includes his company. Tony realizes that means social functions will soon no longer be optional.

He looks at himself in the mirror, he notes with disgust that the person staring back at him looks like a scared, broken child. He slowly works on rearranging his facial expressions until you can no longer see any emotion. The perfect mask to hide his feelings, he memorizes how it feels.

"Tony." Jarvis calls from the front entry way. "We've got to get going." Tony gives himself one last look over in the mirror. He notes that he shockingly looks like Howard. With a slight smirk, he walks down the hallway. He watches as Jarvis visibly jumps at his appearance.

"I'm driving." Tony says the words with so much authority that Jarvis wordlessly hands over the keys. He then follows still in awe over the sudden change in the boy. He's reminded shockingly of a much younger Howard Stark. For the first time, Jarvis can see the father son resemblance that Howard created for everyone else to see. He climbs wordlessly into the passenger seat as Tony guns the engine. For better or worse, Howard Stark is dead. But his son is very much alive and very intent on making sure the world knows that he is Howard Stark's son in every way.


End file.
